How To Finance Your Company

Credit
cards

Corporate cards work like personal cards. You don't need to launch into a lengthy discussion about your
business plan, you simply need to be credit worthy
— have assets or income. They enable small businesses without great financial resources to leverage themselves by
paying as they go.

Pros/Cons: If there is an upside to a corporate card, it's that your statement
does a lot of the accounting legwork for you. But that's not a big savings. You should only use a credit card as a
last result; the interest rates alone will make it the most expensive money you can find.

Steps to
take: Contact several credit card companies and find the best deal.

Angels

Angel investors are
best defined by what they are not. Essentially, they work like venture capitalists, except that they aren't in the
business of investing per se. That is, angels are usually wealthy individuals that invest in exchange for a piece of
the action.

Pros/Cons: Since angels aren't in business to be angels, they're not easy to
find. When you do find them, they could be more likely to get hands-on (unless you agree otherwise). On the upside, an
angel is an angel because they can offer a lot of money, contacts and advice, and they tend to invest because something
about your idea or business sparked a fire in them.

Steps to take:Network, network, network. Angels don't
generally advertise, so you need to work your contacts.

Friends & family

This can be anyone you
know or anyone in your wider network. The basic issue to consider is whether they'll be an investor (in which case
they take stock) or a lender. After that, you'll have to decide whether or not they're going to be silent or
more involved.

Pros/Cons:Friends and family can be a great resource
for a guy with a great idea, but no real business polish (in other words, it might be easier for you to talk to your
cousin Bill than to a bank). The concern is that if things go bad, you risk losing more than money; you risk losing the
relationship.Steps to take: Make a list of people you know who could invest and contact them.